Kaplan Creations Jewelry and Glass Design

I spent the morning trying to get back into melting glass on a more regular basis. Since I had bought this new sugar coating frit, I decided to make a series of transparent beads that look like they have a sugar coating—-or they look like life savers,

or something……..

From time to time I make canes out of polymer clay, and have made some pretty interesting beads. However, when I saw these pink and black beads in a store, I just had to buy them and make a bracelet. This piece also contains Swarovski crystals and Swarovski squaredelles, as well as sterling silver beads with pink enamel.

Working on lampworking flower beads–some are better than others.

What usually happens is that I make a really  nice flower, and then ruin it while trying to encase it.

Here are a couple that aren’t too bad. The one on the right isn’t really a flower, but more like a garden..

A friend of mine showed me a clunky necklace that had very pretty beads, but was just too big for her. She asked if I could “do something” about it. Ahhh… the open ended “do something”….one of my favorite tasks. Anyway, here are the before and after pictures. I took this one big necklace and made 4 pieces (adding some silver beads and wire along the way). The resulting pieces were perfect for her.

I recently bought some gorgeous Suchow jade beads, and finally got around to making some new pieces. I’m not really sure what Suchow jade really is, but I got the idea (from googling around) that it might not be real jade. Well, whatever it is, it sure is pretty. Reminds me of raspberry ice and limeade…..

Suchow jade and ruby bracelet

Suchow jade necklace

Here is the wire wrapped pendant:

I’ve taken a pretty long hiatus from making jewelry, but am now slowly getting back on track. In the meantime I’ve been spending my free time lampworking, taking classes, and learning new techniques. Last month I took two classes taught by Mary Lockwood at Glass Firenze, located here in Eagle River. One of the classes was on encasing beads, the other was on making floral beads. Both were terrific, but as you can see from the picture, I still have a lot of practicing to do.

I was recently at a special education conference in Anchorage (in my spare time, I’m an occupational therapist in the school system—oh wait—that’s my real job…jewelry is in my spare time…I forgot)

Well, anyway, at this conference I met Casey Wade Bitz who, along with his family, collects beach glass in southeast Alaska. I love beach glass and immediately had to buy a small bag of it. Here is a pendant that I made from one of the pieces.

Ruby Zoisite Earrings with Indian Rubies

This past weekend I worked on a lot of jewelry pieces. I’m trying to get ready for four upcoming shows and need to be sure I have enough inventory. These unique earrings were created with ruby zoisite stones, Indian rubies, Swarovski crystals, and sterling silver. See them here .

Green glass and copper bracelet

I found these Czech glass beads in a local bead store and wish I had bought more of them! The rectangular beads are transparent brown and green glass, with a stripe of opaque white. Several styles of copper beads and Swarovski crystals are incorporated into the design. Item # 554 $20.00. See it here

Blue Dichroic Bracelet

This bracelet has black glass beads with a blue dichroic pattern that shimmers in the light. Swarovski crystals, amethyst beads, laser cut sterling silver beads, and a small crystal dangle are also incorporated into the design. Length is 7″. Item #551, $40.00. See it here.